Oh, hi, Christopher Nolan! Here's how we're homaging you this week. Well, let's start by calling the division of Queen Industrials Oliver's mother and stepfather want him to inherit leadership of the Robert Queen Applied Sciences Center. Oliver plays the drunkard and rejects the idea he can be a corporate officer (he is right to point out he has no MBA) by doing the best impersonation of Christian Bale playing drunk at Bruce Wayne's birthday party in Batman Begins. He didn't let his mansion burn down but he did figuratively burn a bridge.

Oh, hi, Bryan Singer. We like your X-Men movies too. So much that Arrow brought in Kelly Hu, who was Deathstrike in X2, to play China White, wearing Storm's white wig from X-Men 1. We got our first superhero vs. super villain slugfest in Arrow, but it was brief and inconclusive.

I liked the scenes with Oliver and Thea, where she discovered all the scars on his body and then took him to see his own grave. I can't wait until Speedy becomes Oliver's sidekick.

Even better is Oliver's relationship with his bodyguard, the only guy who can see through the bullshit act Oliver puts on for his mother and the public and sees there's more to Oliver Queen than meets the eye. He's a hell of a marksman, for one. They also dealt with the embarrassment of all the times he's lost Oliver. However, they really laid it on thick with his "three tours in Afghanistan" story. We get it, you were in Afghanistan.

Laurel and Oliver eat ice cream. Laurel and Oliver reconcile. Laurel nearly gets assassinated in her apartment. I like the greasy burnout cop her dad is.

Overall though, a lot of elements feel disjointed. There are tons of balls in the air with all the characters and Arrow bats them around and keeps them aloft. Other than Oliver's best friend and secretly Laurel's boyfriend, we don't yet have a clue how Tommy Merlyn fits into all of this Hamlet drama at the Queen Mansion.

Still, this show has potential and the means to realize it. Plus, you know, ten seasons to do so.

(edited by John Orquiola on 17.10.12 2133)@CMPunk “@ZackRyder: @CMPunk She played me bro” I got your back.

Really liked the bodyguard this week when I thought he was going to be the total weak link. Yeah, there was a lot of Batman Begins, but then again Arrow was a giant Batman rip-off who even Batman called him out on in the amazing Kevin Smith Quiver. So, I am ok with it since there are far worse Batman things they can steal from.

It did like the WTF ending and for some reason this show feels like it goes faster than Smallville. Then again, Ollie is already in the suit, so its already infinitely better than Clark on Smallville.

The Wee Baby Sheamus.Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.

I liked this episode better than the first, just because of the follow-ups, the action, and the fact that the bodyguard wasn't so much of a doofus this time around. In fact, the bodyguard got his own kick-ass moments in, which I really enjoyed!

I definitely didn't recognize China White from Green Arrow: Year One (which I probably should read, just for the hell of it), since I was hoping it would wind up being Lady Shiva. Maybe that'll come later.

Maaaaan, Laurel's dad is a douche. I mean, Denis Leary's Captain Stacy is looking at him and going "Dude, take it down a notch." Everyone else has settled down on this, but this guy's still the only guy looking at Ollie and going "Man, you survived a shipwreck that was totally an accident and nobody's fault. That makes you an asshole in my eyes and I hate you!" There's grief and there's cartoon hate.

I'm digging this. He's not behaving much like the old-school DC heroes I mark out for, but it's working. Intriguing storyline, which actually reminds me quite a bit of The Cape, except that The Cape was usually pretty crappy, and this so far isn't.

I don't know from China White, but a badass Asian supervillainess with knives is never a bad thing in my book. B^) I looked Kelly Hu up on IMDB, and it turns out she played the girl Mike Seaver fell for when Growing Pains went to Hawaii. I actually remember that, which can only mean that I thought she was really hot.

After this week I hope that the bodyguard ends up becoming some kind of sidekick/partner for GA. I'm also hoping that the series won't get too bogged down in flashbacks (and, as It's False says, the accompanying shakycam) and reveals, but I suppose it comes with the territory.

Originally posted by John OrquiolaLaurel and Oliver eat ice cream. Laurel and Oliver reconcile. Laurel nearly gets assassinated in her apartment. I like the greasy burnout cop her dad is.

Yeah, the dad is good.

I can't read "Laurel and Oliver" without thinking "Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy".

You get shipwrecked on a desert island for five years, and you buy yourself NO SUGAR ADDED ice cream?